831 — I Love You
by Lauren1792
Summary: When a mysterious girl shows up at Titans Tower claiming she can help them, they are brought on a series of strange but overall wonderful events that teach them one thing: 8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning—I Love You. Beginning is boring but gets better.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans (T.T) or its characters… and all that other stuff I'm suppose to put.**

**Lauren: First off, I should tell you that you can call me Lauren (Although its not my real name, but whatever). I should also tell you that this is my first fic. And I hope you like it. I am a T.T freak, which you will soon find out, and my favorite character is Raven (She's awesome). Anyway, I know you didn't come here to listen to me, so get to reading and please review.**

**5…4…3…2… action**

A Continuation from Scratch

Prologue:

Three of the Titans sat all cozy in their living room. Afternoon light filtered in from their huge tower window, which overlooked the city.

"Our strategies, while uncomplicated, need to be perfected," Robin explained to Cyborg and Starfire, who were sitting on either side of him on their sofa. "We can't all be running around at once with no sense of order or we'll have no chance of winning," he lectured.

"I'm beginning to feel like one of the Hive students," Cyborg said glumly. "Affective misdirection," he muttered, remembering the past when he himself, for an undercover mission, became enrolled at Hive Academy; a school founded by one of the worst Jump City villains, Brother Blood.

"Strict or not, Robin's plans do help us a great deal when facing our enemies," Starfire proudly stood up for Robin.

Robin, realizing what his friends had just called him, protested. "I am not strict."

Cyborg didn't at all believe him. "Last week, you made Beastboy do 50 push-ups for laughing during battle practice— if that's not strict, then Raven likes sugar, flowers, candy and ice-cream with a cherry on top."

Before Robin had a chance to protest any further, in walked the two other Titans.

"What about me," Raven demanded more than questioned upon hearing her name being mentioned a few seconds earlier from the opposite side of the door, which was now closing behind Beastboy and herself.

"Nothing," Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg shouted in unison, knowing their friends temper.

Although suspicious, the dark Titan subsided the inquiry and followed Beastboy to a seat on the sofa.

"Tell me, you have finished the updating of the crime files," Starfire politely asked them.

"Yep," Beastboy blurted out, "and there aren't any villains left to fight. They're either in prison or haven't been heard from since…" his voice trailed off as he tried to think of the last time they had encountered some of their earlier enemies.

"All of them? Your telling me there's not a single villain we haven't defeated," Robin puzzled on the thought.

"Other than Red X and Brother Blood, who we haven't met in a while, there's not a single one," Raven told them.

"So, what do we do now? I mean we're the Teen Titans—the ultimate crime fighters. What do we do when there's no crime to fight?"

None of the Titans could answer this question, and none of them got the chance, because before any of them could speak, the Titan alarm went off.

I guess evil found a way, they all thought to themselves as they headed over to the computer. And sure enough, it had.


	2. A Series of Mind Blowing Events

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans (T.T) or its characters and… whatever I put last time**

**Lauren: Hello again people. Well I know the prologue wasn't that good (beginnings never are), but it will get better, I promise. This is when its starts to get interesting. You know, like the part when they… well, why don't I let you read it first. Remember, leave reviews.**

**5…4…3…2… action**

"Mmmmm! Nothing better than some waffles in the morning."

Cyborg stood behind the stove where he desperately awaited his breakfast to finish cooking, its aroma filling the air. Starfire attentively watched Cyborg watch the food cook. Robin sat at the computer overlooking the data from their false alarm yesterday. Turns out a bunch of kids were playing some practical joke, which set off the Titan alarm. The sun barely peeked its head over the horizon, and the teens continue their routine— until Raven walks in through the door a few minutes later.

"Good morning to you, Raven" Starfire belted out a friendly greeting to her friend. "Isn't it a beautiful day out?"

Raven is not at all interested as to what the day is like seeing as though she's looking right at it. Instead, she takes a seat around the table. Raven begins to get a major headache and puts a hand over her shakra.

Robin looks away from the screen and is the first to notice that Raven isn't feeling well. " Raven, are you ok?"

"Yeah, just a dream," she quietly replies back, now recovering from the migraine.

Finally, Cyborg's wait is finished, and he brings over a three-foot tall pile of waffles. "I'm sure it's nothing some waffles wouldn't cure," he said walking over to the table and shoving the plate in Raven's face. She refuses.

"Suit yourself." Cyborg shrugs and begins viciously devouring his scrumptious breakfast. As Cyborg stuffs his face, Beastboy wobbles into the room carrying a pile of his own. A couple of boxes were gripped tightly in his hands. The changeling, being the shortest one out of the five, and having the boxes in his hands, had a hard time seeing in front of him, and tripped over his own feet.

"What's all that?" Raven, out of all the Titans now looking at Beastboy had the courage to ask. "Have you finally decided to clean out that pig pen you classify as a room?"

"Yeahhh…" he started, "…no," he finished. "If you're curious minds must know," he said, trying to pick himself back up, "I found these boxes filled with rare, valuable, old comic books. Who would of thought I would find anything valuable," he began to think out loud, going off subject for a moment. "Anyway, I was about to take them to my room and came in here to see if there was anyone willing to lend me a hand."

"Why use hands, when you've got powers," Raven said, raising her arm to levitate the boxes. When the boxes didn't lift from the ground, the room filled with silence. Raven stared at her shaking fingers trying to hide her fear. "My powers," she exclaimed, "my powers are gone."

"Is that even possible?" Robin asked.

"Yes, Raven, are you sure of this?" Starfire questioned.

"Let me think…" There was a pause for a moment as Raven pretended to think to herself. "Uhh…yeah."

"Has that ever happened before—I mean besides the time with the movie?" Cyborg asked.

"No," Raven said, "only when I'm scared. But I wasn't—up until this point."

"Well, what are we suppose to do," Beastboy asked, moving towards Raven.

"The only way to figure out what's going on is for me to go back to Azarath," Raven quietly explained to them, still in shock from her lack of powers.

"Well, what are we waiting for," he practically pulled Raven's arm out of its socket, "let's go."

"No," Raven yelled, stopping abruptly so that he went flying towards the wall, "anyone who is not from Azarath is not permitted to step foot, or hoof, or claw, or anything else you turn into there. Besides if I go…" she paused trying to hide her fear, "I can never come back."

The room continued to fill with silence, as the Titans could not find the words to say.

"Never come back," Robin broke through the solitude finally, "but you… I mean… why?"

"When I first left Azarath, it was for the good of my people as well as myself, and if I go back, they will want me to stay, because they'll think that I will have already stopped the… well that's not important" Raven said, a sound of fear and sadness revealing in her voice. She tried her hardest to hold it back, but could not. "What is important, is the fact that if I go back, I will have to stay there… forever."

The room is again silent, as none of the Titans would have ever expected something like this would start their day.

"I don't care what anyone says, Raven," Beastboy began to sound angry, but quickly resumed his comical self, as he put a hand on her shoulder. "If your leaving, then so am I—even though it means living in a world where people are always dreary, and can swing me across the room with their mind for the rest of my life." he said, trying to lighten up the room, his efforts failing.

"Yes," Starfire quickly agreed with him. "I will not allow you to travel to another land without any company—even though it is your home." Starfire added also putting a hand on Raven's other shoulder.

"Guys, we aren't thinking this through," Robin almost yelled at them. "I am as sorry about Raven leaving as you are," he lowered his tone to comfort them, "but what about the city? If you didn't notice, we are the only thing keeping it from total destruction." Both Starfire and Beastboy turned from Raven and focused their attention on Robin, not noticing that Raven had begun to get a headache again. She was now on her knees behind them trying to focus her thoughts, but not having any help from her friends and their arguing.

"This is crazy," Cyborg, shrieked, "in the last ten seconds, we've gone from missing one Titan to not having a team at all." He now directed his conversation to Beastboy. "Look, B, I know how you must feel. First losing Terra, and now Raven, but…" right then and there, Cyborg knew he had said the wrong thing, and really at the wrong time.

"Why are you making it sound like I'm in love with the girl?"

"Well… uhhh… are you," Cyborg questioned, always pondering on what the answer might be.

There was a long pause before Beastboy answered, "No… I mean… she…" he stammered, not knowing what to say, beginning to turn red instead of green. "She's the best friend I've ever had," he finally got words and sentences out, "her and Terra. And you have no right to…"

"Why are we arguing about this in the first place," Starfire asked a question they could not answer, "the subject of this discussion was of Raven's departure."

"Starfire's right," Robin agreed with his alien friend, now taking charge of the group. "We have to…"

"So, why must you always side with Starfire," Beastboy couldn't help but ask the boy wonder, "is she your girlfriend or something?"

"Does that really have anything to do with this," Robin asked with no emotion.

"After the amount of times you say 'Starfire!' I'd say it does have something to do with this. Has it ever occurred to you that if she was conscious to her you screaming her name, that maybe she wouldn't be falling off the cliff." Beastboy was now up in Robin's face demanding an answer.

"B.B, you really crossed the line there, man," Cyborg chimed in.

"I'm just going to pretend I never heard that," Robin said, trying to hold back his anger. He wanted desperately to change the subject, so Beastboy's question would not come up again. "Now, as leader, I say that Raven should make her own…"

"Wait a minute, who appointed you leader anyway? I don't remember holding an election." Cyborg tried not to make the statement sound so… mean, but he couldn't help it.

"Robin has always been the one to make crucial decisions for the group," Starfire, as always, stood up for Robin.

"Yeah, even when we didn't want him to," Cyborg told her, "which reminds me of all the times he went berserk. When he became Red X, when he became Slade's apprentice, and the time he beat himself up thinking he saw Slade." (All Slade related)

"I fail to see your point." Starfire struggled to hold Robin back from hurting his teammates, and further more, himself.

"My point is: Maybe he's not reliable enough to be our leader."

Robin couldn't take it anymore, and him and Cyborg got into a heated argument. Beastboy and Starfire were trying to calm them down—Starfire succeeding, Beastboy having some difficulties. After a while, Beastboy gave up on trying to stop it and joined the argument himself. Starfire got in an argument while trying to stop their argument, and before you knew it, some unkind words were being exchanged (English & Tamaranian). They were pretty much on the verge of biting each other's heads off; when they all simultaneously quieted down to turn their gaze on Raven.

Raven was down on her knees, facing towards the ground. Her cloak was red, and she began to growl slightly at them. "Raven?" They all moved in closer towards their friend. Growing closer and closer, they reached her and Cyborg outstretched his metal hand to remove her hood. Before he could, Raven quickly raised her head to reveal four eyes instead of her regular two. (Not exactly) Raven lunged forward to attack her friends.

"Raven, stop," Cyborg shouted, shielding himself from one of her powerful blasts, as she hovered above then (you'll understand why she has her powers later). "What are you… whoa," he let out a loud yell as she flung him across the room with her regained powers.

"Friend… please… do not," Starfire tried not to fight her friend, while protecting herself as well. "Ahh," Starfire screamed as Raven sent her flying across the room as well.

"We can work this out," Robin tried to compromise with Raven, while blocking her shots with his powerful arms. He was quickly overpowered by Raven's increased strength and also went flying across the room in the same direction as the first two.

Beastboy looked quickly behind him to find the other Titans knocked out and in a daze. He then realized that he was the only one left standing, and was next on his former friend's 'dispose of' list.

"Listen, Raven," he said trying to calm her down, as she began to take normal height, but was moving closer to him, "I'm not going to fight you. 'Cause I know that this isn't really you right here," he laughed nervously, but could see she was hesitant to hit him. The other Titans had now awoken to stand behind him encouragingly. They all were tense to see what Raven would do next. As they awaited their fate, they couldn't help but notice a girl behind Raven.

The girl was about Raven's height, had reddish hair and a mask (like Robin's). She wore a black belly-button length shirt, had on long black pants, and black gloves that didn't cover her fingers.

"Who the…"

The girl positioned herself as if performing some sort of spell. "Malrex Entu Fortae," the girl cried, as an aura of light flew from her hands and hit Raven, who had just turned to witness the event. Raven fell to the ground, but began to regain her original color.

"Dude, what did you do," Beastboy asked, running toward Raven, accompanied by Starfire. Cyborg and Robin run toward the girl, who quickly raises a hand signaling them all to stop right where they were. As they all obeyed her and stopped, she pointed to Raven. They all stared at the dark Titan as she slowly began to wake up.


	3. Friend, Foe, or Both

**Disclaimer: I do not own T.T or its characters… blah, blah, blah.**

**Lauren: Hey, guys, I'm back again. Sorry, I couldn't stay away from the comp. The first two chaps. may have seemed boring, but that is going to change soon (T.M.A.I (Tell Me About It): Mainly 'cause I changed the fic. from a PG to a PG-13 RATE). Now, you might find some light profound language in my story, not too much. I started to get the feeling that the Teen Titans, being teenagers, should act more like… well… teenagers (T.M.A.I: Unlike the show; stupid Y-7 rating). Anyway, I know that you came here to read, so go right ahead and please review.**

**5…4…3…2… action**

"Wow," Beastboy exclaimed, "and I thought only the evil ones were cute. Ouch!" He rubbed his side after being jabbed in the ribs by Cyborg's metal arm. Beastboy now realized why his mechanical friend had done this, and began to act more polite; after all, they did have a guest over.

"Prowler, right," Robin asked the girl now sitting across from him. She nodded. "So, Prowler, your telling me that you're from Malor City, your number one villain is a guy named Mastermind, and you've come all this way to warn us that he's trying to steal Raven's powers?" The girl nodded again in reply. "And we should believe you why," Robin questioned, as the entire team — including a confused and disoriented Raven — awaited an answer.

Prowler looked at him blankly for a few seconds before answering, "You have to believe me. Maybe not now, but sooner or later you will. I mean… has anyone else successfully explained to you what's going on?" The Titans remained quiet, not knowing whether to believe the girl or not.

"I think it is necessary to have a quick discussion. Please excuse us for a moment," Starfire asked Prowler as the Titans huddled together in a circle a couple feet away from the girl's listening ears.

"This chick is crazy," Cyborg said, trying to whisper, "who would believe a story like that?"

"Apparently, Beastboy would," Raven muttered, noticing the changeling's sudden interest in Prowler.

"What is there notto believe," Beastboy asked, taking his eyes away from Prowler's legs for the first time since she had gotten there, "she's giving us a lead, and we should appreciate her help. Besides, her story is most convincing." He raised his eyebrows, quickly taking a glance at Prowler.

"In other words: she's cute so how could she be lying," Robin corrected Beastboy.

"Exactly," Beastboy replied before sighing and again gluing his eyes to Prowler. His focus was on her legs, higher to her knees, higher to her thighs, higher to her…

"'Beastboy," Raven startled him to the point in which he practically jumped. "Why don't you keep your attention on the discussion before I make it so that you can't look anywhere else," Raven threatened.

"Gee Raven, jealous much," Beastboy couldn't help but mutter back at her.

"I am not jealous of her and her lame ass story," Raven, growing angry, pointed at Prowler and yelled at Beastboy. The other Titans could do nothing but watch helplessly, afraid that their dark friend might again attack them if they butted in. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire began to notice a black aura of power forming around Raven's fists as she continued to get mad. Beastboy noticed it, too.

"So, are you going to hit me or something now," Beastboy questioned Raven.

"Why don't you keep talking and find out," Raven commanded him menacingly. The two faced each other head on. _What am I doing_, Raven questioned herself, _why am I so angry all of a sudden_. _And of all people, I_ _had to pick Beastboy to be mad at_. "Well," Raven continued, raising a fist toward the green one's face. _Please don't hit him_, Raven begged herself, unable to control her sudden rage.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Prowler interrupted Raven's thoughts, as well as gave everyone else in the room a chance to breathe. "The more you all yell and argue, the angrier Raven gets, and the angrier Raven gets, the more chance Mastermind has of stealing her powers," she explained to the entire group. "He not only feeds on power, but anger as well, and your giving him a whole lot of it," Prowler said, now turning to talk specifically to Raven, "and the more you give him, the more he can control you. So like I said, I wouldn't do that if I were you"

"Well, you're not me," Raven shrieked, still lost as to where her anger was coming from.

"Don't yell at her, she's only trying to help if you'd give her the chance," Beastboy said, again getting into an argument with Raven.

"I don't need her help. And how can you tell me who I can and can't yell at?"

"Easy, I just told you."

Raven's powers now went ballistic, and her black aura swirled around the entire room causing a momentary blackout, in which the Titans were sucked into a vortex of darkness. When they finally woke up, they were no longer in Titans Tower; they were in a dark cave. It seemed mostly deserted, and all the Titans began to pick themselves up.

_Well, you're not me_, Prowler mocked Raven in her head, _maybe I should be_ _you_. Prowler looked around to find the other Titans also getting up with the expression on their face as if they were thinking the same thing.

"Is everyone ok," Robin asked his teammates while examining his new surroundings.

"I guess, but I have no idea where we are," Cyborg said, looking down at his locator. "I'm not getting any reading on the locator. We must be in another dimension. Either that, or someone is jamming the signal."

"Well… I don't want to sound like a pain… but… WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO NOW," Beastboy asked and yelled.

"Funny, I thought you already were a pain," Raven commented. Beastboy looked as if he were about to say something…

"Please friends, do not fight again. Not after what your bickering has gotten us into," Starfire reminded them. They both tried their hardest not to say anything more.

"Look, all we have to do is pull together and find a way out of here" Robin assured them.

"I doubt that," Prowler muttered under her breath.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this looks like the work of Mastermind. And knowing him, he's probably leading us into one of his…" Prowler's sentence was interrupted by a low rumbling noise. The rumbling turned into a roar as plates of steel shot out of the ground where they were standing. The steel plates connected together to form the walls of a maze, which was as high as the cave ceiling. The maze surrounded the Titans, and their only way out was to go through the zigzagging course. None of them thought the place was deserted anymore.

"… tricks," Prowler finished her sentence. When she turned and looked behind her, she noticed that half of the Titans were no longer there. The only people who were left with her were Beastboy and Raven. _Ohh, goodie. Now_ _I'm stuck with the anger management school dropouts_, Prowler thought to herself.

"Is everyone still ok?" Robin's voice echoed loudly off of the steel and came out as a booming yell.

"Yeah, but we'd be even better if you'd stop yelling," Cyborg said from behind the wall separating the two groups.

"It doesn't look like we can break through the walls, so I guess we have to go through the maze."

"Just please be careful friends." Now that the plan was set into action, the Titans were on their way, only because they had nowhere else to go.

"Sorry I got so hot headed back there. I don't know what came over me. It was like…" Beastboy was trying to apologize the best way he knew how, but he wasn't so good at it.

"Yeah, me too. I don't… I mean…" Raven had a loss for words. She wasn't so good at it either. They both felt awkward but didn't know why.

"This is really touching and all, but I'm not in the mood to see another soap opera, so do you think you could keep your lovey-dovey affairs to yourself," Prowler stated more than asked them while having this uncanny ability to not make her comment sound rude. The three of them continued to walk through the maze, taking a turn here and there, and beginning to have a conversation.

"So, Prowler. You seem to know about sorcery," Raven said, faintly remembering the spell Prowler had used that morning, "Are you a sorceress or…"

"You could say that," Prowler replied as they took a left turn. "I am completely human, but with a lot of practice and the right teacher, I've come to be quite good at it."

"Really? Who taught you? Is it anyone we know," Beastboy asked. Both he and Raven were trying to get some information about their so-called 'new friend'.

"If you haven't already met her, you will."

"Well, she's quite the talker," Raven whispered sarcastically to Beastboy.

"At least she's quite the looker," Beastboy added in, again focusing on Prowler's beauty.

"Look guys, don't get me wrong, its not like I think you all are weird or something, I just don't know you that well. That being said, I should warn you that when I don't know people very well, I don't tell them much about myself."

"That's understandable," Raven agreed, "For all you know, we could be the villains here, not that we are."

"I'm glad you see my point. That also being said," she pointed to Beastboy, "stop looking at my legs, will you?" Being confronted, Beastboy turned a bright red, and his attention became glued to the path once again.

_She's not so bad after all, _Raven thought to herself. _Anyone who embarrasses Beastboy is a friend of mine._

"This maze goes on forever," Cyborg said glumly. "Star, cant you fly us out of here or something?" He was obviously getting restless and bored.

"We don't know what's at the end of this maze. Rushing may just lead us into another trap," Robin explained to him. "We need time to process all of this; figure out who's really behind this wild goose chase we're on."

"But our friend Prowler told us it was the Mastermind who had done this," Starfire said.

"And listening to everything some gothic teenager says will only lead us into more traps," Robin told her. Starfire looked confused, almost hurt. "Hey, Starfire. I'm not saying that she's lying I'm just saying that we need to watch our backs. Good friends are harder to find then we thought. Between spies and backstabbers, there aren't that many good guys around anymore." Starfire understood how Robin was felling and understood that he was saying this in the team's best interest.

Ever since the team had lost their former Titan, Terra, Robin was always very cautious around strangers (T.M.A.I: Mostly girl strangers.). He never quite got the idea that it wasn't his fault (T.M.A.I: Does he ever.). You would expect Beastboy to be the one to take it the hardest, but Robin could never get over his guilt while Beastboy tried to moved on.

"So, I'm guessing you're still pretty… uhhh… guilty about… um…" Robin didn't want to bring up the past right now, and Cyborg began to notice that by the expression that was now perched on their leader's face. Cyborg took the hint and attempted to change the subject. "Alright, moving on. Well, since you have some doubts about Prowler's explanations, who do you think is behind this?"

Robin thought to himself for a moment and his expression changed to a puzzled one. "It has to be someone who knows enough about Raven's powers and had even the slightest knowledge as to how they work. Someone maybe a bit like Raven, who knew about…"

"Wait a minute, your not implying that Prowler could be a suspect are you?"

"Why not? She fits the description perfectly."

"I don't know man, she doesn't seem like the type of person who would do something like that. I mean she is creepy, and secluded and all, but if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have even had the slightest clue as to what was going on under our own roof."

"Don't tell me you're falling under the love spell too," Robin said, a smirk forming on his face.

"Well… I mean… she's…" Cyborg began to blush, and didn't know whether to agree or not. _Prowler did have a nice figure, and her hair was long and pretty, and that mask made her look really hot… HOT? I've got to stop hanging out with Beastboy_, Cyborg thought to himself.

"Hey Star, you've been sort of quiet lately. Is something wrong?" Robin's questions broke into Cyborg's train of thought.

"Everything's wrong. Our team is ruined, we don't have any idea where we are and," she sighed showing her frustration, "and I don't know. I guess I'm just in a bad mood. This day kind of sucked, didn't it?"

The half mechanical man and the former apprentice of Batman were flabbergasted. Neither of them had ever really heard Starfire complain about anything, and did the word sucked actually escape from her lips? The two continued to think while still traveling down the maze. Starfire remained quiet, and the only sound that could be heard was the tapping of their feet on the dirt floor.

Everyone was beginning to notice that the team had been on an emotional roller coaster throughout the morning. Raven was battling with her anger and so was Beastboy, who was also suffering with the love bug, as was Cyborg. Robin was feeling the wrath of guilt, while Starfire had turned into a complete pessimist, and as for Prowler, who wasn't exactly on the team, nothing was really different about her, but none of them could be sure because they had never met her before, or so they thought. It turns out that one of the Titans knows her very well.


	4. Who knew Cupids could cause so many prob...

**Disclaimer: As you know, I don't own Teen Titans. They probably originally belong to someone who has already kicked the bucket and is now being managed by some dude sitting behind an office desk, but I don't know that for sure. If you do, fill me in.**

**Lauren: Ok, I know you havent heard from me in a really long time, but I hit a writers block. Though I was bored as hell, I couldn't find inspiration. I couldn't find my motive for writing, but now i have located my motivation. So, now you will read chapter 4 and all its Teen Titan goodness. Wait a second. I have someone I need to thank. Shaedowe, your review was very helpful and pretty much saved the fic. I was going to scrap it, but since you reviewed, I'll continue it. Believe me, it gets much better from this point on. RR. Thanks. Let the chapter begin. **

**5...4...3...2...action**

"I think we're getting close to the end."

"And how do you know" The pessimistic tone blocked out Starfire's sweet soul self, or at least for the moment.

"I don't, but I can hear voices up ahead. Voices usually indicate people, and it might be just the person we're looking for."

"Shh... If y'all don't stop talking, we might just have an entire army of I don't even know what after us. Like you said, Robin, we dont know what to expect."

The three friends huddled together in darkness. They were no longer in the narrow hallway, for after Starfire had revealed her inquiry, they had rounded the corner and came across a cavern room. The room was large, and as the team (T.M.A.I: technically not the whole team) entered, their footsteps echoing off of the bare walls, they also noticed it was quite dark. They heard footsteps and voices coming from the hallway opposite the one they had just exited. No one said a word after Cyborg's warning, but they all knew what to do. They were going to wait for the unidentified figures to walk into the room, then the teens would spring into action, hoping to get some answers about where they were out of the ambush.

The voices grew nearer and the teens grew more anxious. Each wanted to get through this in one piece, for each knew that whoever was coming down that hallway might have friends._ Lots of friends_. But the Titans had no time to worry about that, they had to do what they had to do, besides, the people were already entering the cave relm and time was against them.

It was time to strike. Robin yelled his familiar cry of 'Titans Go!', and the three jumped from their hiding spot, but were met by the also familiar faces of their team mates. A sigh of relief escaped each Titans' lips, for they were glad to see their friends again. (T.M.A.I: well Raven could care less, or so it seemed to everyone else. truly, she was happy to be reunited with her entire team again.)

"Oh, it's just you guys."

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Prowler" Raven's sarcastcness was beginning to rub off on Robin.

"You're stealing my trademark, you thief" Raven spat at robin accusingly"sarcasm is my thing."

"Raven, you do realize that you're beginning an argument over a tone of speaking right" Beastboy couldn't help himself, he had to say something.

"Do you have a problem with it, elf boy"

"What if I do"

"Hey, hey! Lets cut this out! You guys are acting like a bunch of kindergarden behavior problems." Prowler was getting impatient with them, but true to form, she was right. They were behaving like juvenile delinquents, and Prowler wasn't getting tired of cooperating with them.

"It's funny how we're all acting like something and your not" Robin said for all to hear.

"Your going to have to explain this one to me, Robin" Cyborg told him somewhat confused.

"From the moment that girl walked through the door" you did not have to see Robin pointing an accusing finger towards Prowler to know who he was talking to and about"we've all been acting strange. Starfire's become quiet and pessimistic, two things she never is, Raven and Beastboy are angry and full of arguments, Cyborg thinks he's in love with you, and I..." Robin trailed off now realizing that he was telling too much information"and you... you haven't had any outbreaks in feeling lately. Doesn't anyone find it a bit uncoincidental that she's the only one not acting different" The Boy Wonder's words stuck to the other Titans like glue. _Why was she the only one not acting different?_

"How would you know if I'm acting different or not" she seemed to read their minds"you don't even know me." Prowler said this line, but did not believe it herself. She somehow felt she knew the Titans, perhaps not all of them, but one in particular. The one who was accusing her, Robin.

"We may not know you all that well, but that doesn't get you off the hook. Like it or not, you're still a suspect." _Do I have to be such a jerk about it_, Robin questioned himself. He didn't want to sound so mean and put Sy on the stand, but it was his job to ensure the safety and welfare of his team. Further more, it was his job to suspect, and he had to accept that, no matter how mean he thought he sounded. After sorting this out mentally in his head, one question still lingered in his brain: Why had he just called Prowler 'Sy'?

The Boy Wonder took a nervous glance at Prowler who was staring at him as well, her face showing the same emotion, nervousness. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, but had the need to be around her. _What is with her? Why is she so... hypnotizing? _He really hoped that she wasn't an empath like Raven and that she couldn't read his mind, heck, he hoped Raven wasn't reading his mind. After all, he was thinking about some very personal information.

As his brain continued to come up with more questions than answers, he noticed that he and Prowler still had eye contact, but somehow the mask wasn't there. It was as if he had x-ray vision and could see right through the thin strip and directly to her face. _What beautiful eyes she has_, he couldn't help but admire them. _Two crystal clear lakes. Blue with a hint of green._

He forced himself to look away as she did the same. _How did I do that? She was still wearing her mask, right? So how did I see her eyes? Illusions? That's right, illusions. I didn't actually see that_, but from his resolve came another question: If he hadn't really seen that, then how was he so sure what color her eyes were?

Prowler was thinking the same exact thing, after having the same bizzare experience. _How do I know what color his eyes are? And why do I keep getting the feeling that I know him? _Only one answer came from her mind. It wasn't technically what you'd call an answer, but it was all her brain was willing to give, and that was a plea of 'Don't ever forget me.'

"Hey, Raven, don't you think those two have been acting a bit strange around each other" Cyborg awaited an answer from the Azarathian girl, hoping he wasn't the only one who noticed Prowler and Robin's 'eye behavior.'

"It's not my job to get in other people's business" Raven told Cyborg in her monotone voice"but... yeah, I do."

The two Titans looked up to where the masked heroes were last having an facial and mental conversation to find that they had seperated. Robin was at the North end of the room while Prowler was at the South end. They were both trying to avoid eye contact, but found it difficult.

"Don't you think we should be looking for a way out of here? I mean, we had seperated, but ended up in the same place. It doesn't look like there's another path way, so we're sorta' stuck" Beastboy actually managed to sound smart for a second, and was making sense. They met up in the same room and there was no where else for them to go.

"It's no use looking, we'll never find a way out of here." Everyone knew it was Starfire who made the comment, but if they weren't there to witness it for themselves, they would not have believed their ears, for this was not like Starfire at all. That's when the situation and explanation finally connected in Prowler's brain.

"Hold on. You guys say that you've been acting strange, right"

The Titans nodded in response.

"And you say it has to do with emotion or feeling, like being angry or pessimistic, right"

All the Titans again nodded in silence as a form of response.

"Of course." Prowler snapped her fingers to signal she had just realized something. "How could I not see it before? Mastermind may be the reason you're all here, but for making you act strange, there's only one person for the job. Someone I never thought I'd see again. Someone named—"

"Cupid."

Prowler had not been able to finish her sentence (T.M.A.I: how many times has she been cut off since this story started?). She was interupted by a voice only known to her. The Titans and Prowler all turned their gaze upon a girl who had seemed to appear out of nowhere. She was a teenager, no older than Raven, but equally mature. She had hair that was a dark orage color, which was tied into a long pony tail behind hack. Her outfit was simple yet unforgetable. She wore a short, skin-tight, sleeveless, dress. It was a dark red color, wanting to be black, but not succeeding. She also wore black fashionable boots, which matched her black gloves. Around her neck was a heart shaped necklace that matched her dress and seemed to glow. Her eyes were also red, but only the pupil bare this color, so she seemed somewhat human. Her most notable feature though, was the wicked smile that was perched upon her lips.

The male Titans gawked in delight. She was, after all, HOT, (T.M.A.I: they've been using that word often lately) but they quickly changed their expressions to serious ones. _She evil, she's evil, she's evil, she's evil_...they each seemed to chorus mentally, trying to keep focus on the task at hand. _She's evil... evil, but so HOT._

"I thought I'd locked you up for good." Prowler glared angrily upon her enemy.

"You did nothing but stall me" Cupid replied quite amused.

"So, did Mastermind call you to do his dirty work, or did you find him"

Cupid gave Prowler a look of pure hatred. _You always did know how to get on my bad side, _Cupid said inwardly. _You know the consequences of getting me mad, Prowler, so now your friends have to pay the price._

At that moment, an unberable 'ringing' met each Titans' ear. Each put a hand over their now throbbing temples and all of their knees met the floor. The oblivious teens had no idea what was going on, but Prowler sure did.

"Don't you think you've messed with them enough? Does bothering their emotions really make you that much of a goddess"

The ringing that was still as loud as ever in the Titans' heads became lighter. Although it still caused them to cry out in pain, the forcefulness of the past had vanished. Cupid continued to confuse the Titans. As the Goddess of Emotion, she could make someone feel as she wanted them to. She could make someone angry or sad just by a thought in her head, but now she was making all of their emotions come out at once. It was unberable only because no one can release all of their emotions at the same time, the body doesn't know what to do, and when the body is confused, bad things can happen. Prowler knew this from experience, and was trying to help her friends by confusing the culprit herself.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Cupid"

The goddess kept her consentration.

"Or shall I say it in 'layman's terms': why don't you pick on me"

Cupid began having trouble keeping her power steady.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot, you can't use your powers on me. My spell is resistant to your charm. So, up against me, your powerless."

"Shut up" As Cupid shouted this to Prowler, she lost her control. Her dark hold on the Titans' subsided. "Fuck! This shows that some people have big mouths, but other than that what are you trying to prove" Cupid tried to regain her focus.

"Nothing. Just trying to say that your powers have their drawbacks. The slightest distraction can cause you to screw up. And oh, yeah, that thing about your control only being temporary."

As these words escaped Prowler's lips, the five teens who were once knelt down in pain were standing strong. The ear piercing noise in their heads vanished as did their weird emotions. Raven and Beastboy weren't angry, Starfire wasn't pessimitic, and Robin wasn't guilty (T.M.A.I: hey, where was that guilty thing in this chapter? oh, well from the other chap.). Beastboy and Cyborg still thought Prowler was HOT, and Robin still felt he knew her, but at least those were their own emotions.

"Don't worry little Ms.Hero" the goddess said noticing she was rapidly becoming outnumbered"soon my power will be permanent and I will be perfect."

"So, is that why you hooked up with Mastermind? Becaus he can make you perfect"

"None of your business" Cupid shouted as she flew (T.M.A.I: yes she can fly) towards Prowler at full speed. Prowler, as well as all the Titans, were caught off guard, but the Dark Mistress, and the Titans, managed to dodge the attack and rolled out of the way. Cupid turned around to face the group who was now behind her and decided to take another approach. With a wave of her hand and a flash of light, the many wondering eyes saw a bow and arrow form in her hands. _So, that's what was missing. The bow and arrow. A cupid can't be seen without the bow and arrow. _

Cupid did not hesitate to pull back on the bow, releasing three glowing arrows traveling at rocket speeds. The first was fixed on Beastboy, but he turned into a rat, which was more than small enough for the the arrow to fly straight over it's head and explode as it came in contact with the wall. The second was headed for Starfire, but she flew out of the reach of harm. The last was tricky and merely hid behind the second, so when it ws finally revealed, the Titans were unsuspecting of it. The arrow shot forward to Raven, a red aura trailing behind it. The half demon girl stood completely still, locked in place by surprise. The arrow would have caused serious injury if Prowler had not pushed Raven out of the way, but instead of causing Raven injury, the arrow entered Prowler's right arm.

A narrow stream of blood slowly made its way down the Mistress's arm as she landed in a crouch next to Raven. The arrow was still fixed into her arm as she cried out in pain. Then before anyone knew it, Prowler was up against the cave wall. She had been pushed back into the cave structure by Cupid, who was dirty enough to attack an already injured opponent. Robin saw this, and his temper ran high.

"That's it! No more waisting time! Titans Go"

The Titans sprinted towards the Goddess. They were determined to put their attacker through a brutal beating, but something stopped them. _Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden? _Cyborg thought to himself. _I'm sure I recharged my battery last night._ But no matter how hard he tried, he felt tired and unable to fight. His mechanical and human muscles ached as if he had fought for hours without rest. His knees fell to the ground, as if gravity was trying to pull him apart by forcing him through the floor. The half-mechanical man attempted to pick himself back up and show support for his team mates but failed miserably. Then as he turned for assistance, thinking this lack of energy was just a malfunction in his circuits of some sort, he noticed the other Titans in the same situation. They all had stopped and were hunched over panting, or had a droopy look in their eyes.

"Not only am I the goddess of emotion, but of feeling too. I can make you tired or hyper just by thinking about it. And I can also make you weak. Since mixing your emotions together didn't work, i'll just use one at a time."

Cupid stepped up Beastboy and put a hand on his shoulder but he could do nothing to stop her, for the weakness has melted into him. She brought her face close to his and lowered her lips to his ear, then continued, whispering softly to him.

"So with you amateurs out of the way, I can do to this city whatever I want."

Cupid slowly brought her lips toward his cheek in the expectation of giving him a kiss. The motive was not just because she thought he was the cutest out of the bunch, but mostly for the sake of annoyance. The green teenager just closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for what was yet to happen. Cupid was inches, centimeters away from the victory of taunting the teens further, when a black speck of energy gave her a shock in the cheek. She turned abruptly to see Raven glaring at her from afar. She then knew where or from who the shock came.

_Persistant little witch isn't she. Maybe she has a thing for this one, _Cupid thought looking at Beastboy then back at Raven. _Well, why don't I have a bit of fun with this couple._

"I'm sorry, am I getting tioo close to your boyfriend" Cupid asked beginning her walk over to Raven. "I mean, it must have taken a lot out of you to use even the slightest ounce of your power, but I bet your going to say you did it out of love."

Raven was clearly pissed, proven by the 'I want to kill you' stare she was giving Cupid, but like poor Beastboy and everyone else, she could do nothing. Cupid was right, it took a lot out of her to create that spark, but did she really do it out of love? Did she have a thing for Beastboy? She had no time to even consider this, because within a matter of seconds, Cupid was beside her.

"What's the matter, not strong enough to talk" Cupid's amused tone mocked Raven to the point where she felt she could just strangle this 'goddess', but that was merely a dream and nothing more. "Are you really so tired you can't say a word" Each Titan looked upon Raven rather sympathetically.

"That's ok, I'll do the talking for her." Prowler packed a mean punch to Cupid's face. Cupid flew back, but turned the fall into a back flip and landed in a crouch. The goddess regained her stature and once again lunged toward Prowler, but this time the Mistress was ready and waiting. She threw one of her energ discs at Cupid. It exploded into a thick net, pinning Cupid up against the cave wall behind her, and hitting her head against the hard, stone, cave wall. She was rendered unconcious by the force of the blow, and while she was knocked out, her hold on the Titans' feelings was withdrawn. They were no longer tired or weak. As they admired their job well done, everyone's eyes turned to meet Prowler, who had single handedly saved a member of their team more than once. It was then that they, mostly Robin, realized she was more than just some crazy chick, she was naturally part of the team...the question is: will something keep her from becoming part of the team?


	5. The little voice in my head

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but then again doesn't everyone know that?**

**Lauren: Well hello there. Once again you are brought into my world. theme song from 'The Twilight Zone' plays in the background Chapter five is definently going to be a treat. Just to clearify something real quick: in the T.V show 'Teen Titans,' they do not know Robin's true identity, for in the show he does not have one. He's just Robin. Though in my fic., he is Richard (Dick) Grayson. Just needed to say that. As always, you know the drill. RR. Thanx. Now, let the show begin! Wait, not so fast. I've got peoples to thank.**

**kyttycat: thanx 4 the review. glad you liked the story. i will give in to your demands and 'keep writing' as you so typically put it. **

**Paper Bear: thanx 4 the review. i like my title 2. and just 2 let you people know, i got that from another fic. it was sort of meant as like a joke thing and so i decided 2 incorporate it into my story 'cause i thought it was just soooooo cute. all props 2 the author of internet dating, wether they personally made it up or not.**

**PeanutbutterII: thanx 4 the review. of course it was short, you only read the prologue. secluded means like kept to yourself, seperated, and stuff. cause you know how like in the beginning she basically only said one thing, thats being secluded.**

**_Now, _let the show begin.**

**5...4...3...2...action**

"Dammit!"

A strong hand slammed violently on the edge of a desk.

"How does she always manage to ruin my plans? Is it in her blood to want to take the fun out of everything?" The strong deep voice sounded somewhat childish, while calm and uncaring at the same time. The dark figure continued to watch the teens as they celebrated their victory. He could see them through a rather large screen fixed upon the wall in front of him, and he looked upon them with most disgust. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts, for soon, the only celebration you'll be having is the funeral of one of your beloved teammates." He let out a hushed laugh. "That's what I call a celebration."

His laughter faded as the screen changed from an image of the Titans to an unactivated compuer file.

**'IN CASE OF FAILURE.'** The figure, with a sigh of defeat, clicked on the file and it gave two choices.

**'ACTIVATE' **or **'TERMINATE.'** The figure clicked on **'ACTIVATE.'**

**'PROCESS WILL BEGIN IN 6O MINUTES...'**

"Will she be alright?"

"She's only unconcious... I hope."

"I am not talking about the Cupid, but of friend Prowler."

"Ohhhhhhhh. I'm sure Prowler will be fine. Looks like nothing more than some lost blood and damanged arteries at the most. Luckily, that arrow entered at an angle. She probably got off easier than most people, but I doubt she's going to be swinging from roof top to roof top anytime soon."

"Friend Cyborg, do you fear Prowler will no longer be in shape to help us in out fighting of crime?"

Cyborg liked the fact that Starfire was back to normal. Though the pesimistic Starfire made him look like an angel, he missed the original and her caring, positive attitude. "Nah, I'm pretty sure Raven will have her fixed up by Friday at least, but it's up to her and Robin if she helps us anymore now that Cupid's out of the way."

Starfire did not hear the mechanical man's comment after 'but' because she was too busy rejoycing at the sound of his original statement. Today was Wednesday, which meant in a matter of days Prowler would be back helping them. Starfire even secretly wished she would stay and become a part of the team. She was thrilled at the thought of a new team member, but even though she wanted Prowler to stay, there was still something else to worry about: _How will I ever convince them to let her stay? _

Flashback

_Cupid's head hit the wall with a loud thud and she was instantly knocked unconcious. All eyes were fixed upon Prowler who had single-handedly saved the Titans. She saw the faces of the teens look at her with pure gratitude, their smiling faces letting her know that she was appreciated. Blood continued to race down her arm and she could feel herself getting dizzier, and drifting in and out of reality. A tight silence engulfed the room, as the team did not know what to say to their savior. They didn't know how to express what they were feeling, but by two words..._

_"Thank you."_

_She smiled as best she could, but it came out weaker than she had wanted. She still managed to let out a faint, "Your welcome.." before passing out of a loss of blood._

End Flashback

Sure the entire team trusted her now, after all, she had risked her life to save them, but after what had happened with Terra just months in the past, not everyone was looking forward to having a new addition to the team anytime soon. But Star would have time to think about how to persuade her team later, for now they had to worry about Cupid. She may be a villian, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't be looked after.

Starfire helped Cyborg tend to her, untangeling ropes, or fetching bandades whenever he needed her to. Her mind continued to wander, until her eyes met upon Beastboy.

The changeling felt his legs bringing him toward Raven. He was lost as to why, but he felt the need to be next to her. She was so alluring and mysterious, he just couldn't imagine a world without her and didn't want to. _Wait a second, where did that come from. Gotta' lay off the high energy tofu bars Beastboy, _he told himself.

"Uhh... thanks for the help back there." He had reached Raven who was still a bit shaken from before, and was now caught up in her thoughts. _She saved me, she saved me. But why? Why would anyone care what happened to me? Why would anyone risk their life for mine?_

If Prowler had not interveined, Raven might not have been standing there right now, and she knew that. That's why she took personal charge of helping Prowler to recover. She gave as much of her energy into her healing power as she could, once she found out her powers worked again.(T.M.A.I: you see, before she had helped Beastboy with the whole kiss thing, she didnt know she could use her powers, because she didnt know what would happen. if you recall, in the beginning her powers were missing, except for when she had gone mid-evil on her team mates, which was because she got angry at their arguing, added to the pressure of having to go home forever, and of losing her powers. who wouldn't get mad. just needed to clarify that.)

"Raven, did you hear me?"

Beastboy's voice had brought Raven away from her thoughts, and she was now staring into his vivid green eyes.

"What is it," Raven asked in her monotone voice. She felt the cold stone walls behind her as she leaned against them.

"I just wanted to say thanks for helping me with the whole Cupid thing." _Beastboy you idiot! Couldn't you find anything better to say, _he was mentally slapping himself in the face. _Wait... since when do I care about what I say to Raven?_

Why thank me? I probably ruined your chance at getting kissed by what you'd refer to as a 'HOT' girl," She said, turning cold. _Why must you be so negative, _Raven scolded herself.

She may have been 'HOT,' but she was still evil," Beastboy confessed, "besides, there are only a couple of girls I'd want to be kissed by."

"Yeah? And who would those girls be," Raven absentmindedly asked him.

Beastboy found his face growing hot, and he could tell he was blushing. "Well... uhh... you." He purposely coughed when he said 'you', but Raven could still hear it clearly. She could feel herself also begin to blush. _Thank Azar for this hood, _she thought.

"Thanks, that's sweet." He smiled brightly at her and she returned it. _Who would have known that Beastboy could be sweet. But did he really mean it? _Raven searched through his thoughts and found he was indeed telling the truth. _Why do I even want to know? Am I beginning to... no. That couldn't be possible. Could it? Maybe Cupid's just playing tricks on us. What if she's still awake and is messing with our emotions again, _but she sensed that Cupid was indeed out cold_. Well, what if because of what she's already done my emotions are running haywire, which is causing me to THINK I like Beastboy. _Raven was beginning to run out of excuses, and decided to stick wth the present one. _That's got to be it. All I need to do is clear my mind. I just need to meditate._

But no matter how much she told herself this, she felt that this feeling she had for Beastboy had been here even before Cupid had ever gotten involved.

Robin held Prowler (bridal style) gingerly in his arms, waiting for her to wake up. Raven had already healed her as best she could, but told him that she would remain unconcious for a while. He remembered when she had passed out. How he had caught her in his muscular arms. How they seemed to be made for her to lay in them. How the others had told him to put her down and give her some air, but he refused to let her go. She fit perfectly against his chest, and that's where he wanted her to stay.

Flashback

_"Robin, I've already performed the healing process. She may stay unconcious for a while longer, but it's safe to put her down now."_

_Robin did not want to do as Raven suggested. He wanted her to stay close to him so he could protect her, but from what he didn't know. Cupid wasn't going to cause problems anytime soon, so why did he want to hold on to her so badly._

_"It's ok ,Raven. I think it would be better if she stayed like this for a while. That way, I can keep a close eye on her."_

_"Too close of an eye if you ask me," Cyborg mocked his leader. He nudged Beastboy playfully on the shoulder as the changeling laughed his the comment._

_"Look guys, it's nothing personal, I just want to make sure she's ok. Ok?"_

_"Whatever you say Boy Blunder. Whatever you say."_

End Flashback

Robin now gazed at the beautiful girl he held in his hands. The same beautiful girl he had held in his hands for over fourty-five minutes. He liked looking at her. Her hair was a nice red, almost as dark as his alien friend. Her skin was soft and smooth, and she gave off this radiant scent, even after battle. Her lips were a vibrant red also, and were just calling to him, but he couldn't help being dissapointed when he came upon the mask every time her tried to look into her eyes.

He wanted so badly to rip the stupid thing off. He wanted to gaze into her eyes as she awoke. He wanted to assure her that everything would be ok. He wanted to take her chin in his hand, lean toward her face, and... _Snap out of it Robin, _he told himself. _Remember, you barely even know her... So maybe you should get to know her, _the little voice in his head suggested in a mischevios tone... _Don't even think like that! I can't let those type of thoughts get in the way of work, _he shot back_... You're 15, you shouldn't be wound up in work at such a young age. Besides, you said yourself that you knew her... I said I thought I knew her, but that's impossible... Nothing is impossible when it comes to love. _

Robin was shocked. He hadn't used that word in a long time. Love was something Robin had learned to shut out of his thoughts. He locked it away and pretended it was never there, a trait he had learned from the Dark Knight (Batman) himself. The Boy Wonder didn't want the love he had for people to cause them harm, so he tried not to love anyone. Every once in a blue moon, Robin found someone to love, but did not show it. He went on with life along side that person as normally as possible, making their relationship as casual as possible. Eventually the person either drifted away, or got the picture and left. But there was only one who has yet to drift away or leave. Starfire.

He had fallen in love with Starfire from the moment he layed eyes on her, not only for her external beauty, but for the beautiful person she was on the inside. She was caring and innocent, and no matter how hard Robin tried to push away from getting too close to her, she always managed to lure him back in. It was as if she had a spell on him. Something that was constantly calling him back to her. She was everything he wanted and everything he knew he couldn't have, and it was obvious to see that she loved him back. Now he was beginning to have strong feelings for Prowler, but the love he felt for Starfire still lingered not to far on the side. He didn't even know if Prowler felt the same about him, and either way, he couldn't have either of them. For their own safety.

_And that's final, _he shouted to the inner voice... _Ok, ok. Whatever you say. You can just spend the rest of your life wondering what would've of happened, what could've happened, and what you stopped from happening, _and with that, the little voice in his head became quiet, and Prowler began to stir.

Prowler slowly began to open her eyes. She felt dizzy and weak and almost felt as if she was falling, but then she noticed she wasn't. She was laying in someone's arms, and she could tell it was a male and that he was handsome. But who was he? As her eye lids began to open fully and her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the cave (T.M.A.I: the only light they got was Starfire's light from her hand like in 'Haunted' and Cyborg's shoulder flashlight like in 'Fear Itself') she saw who her care taker was.

"Robin?" She looked up to see the masked boy giving her a reassuring smile.

"It's about time you woke up. I was beginning to think I'd have to put you in a retirement home."

"Ha ha... very funny," she said weakly, not at all enjoying his humor. Prowler tried to sit up, but found it difficult. The room was spinning and she couldn't keep focus on one thing. After her attempt failed, she layed back down in Robin's arms. "What are we still doing here," she asked when she noticed they were still inside the cave.

"Well, that's where we've got a problem. We originally got here because Raven's powers went awol, but now, since Raven has no idea how she got us here or even where here is, we're pretty much stuck. After you passed out, we went searching to try to find a trap door or something, but no luck. Got any suggestions?"

Prowler thought for a minute. She was letting what he said sink into her brain. _Stuck, no way out, suggestions..._ Prowler forced her confused brain to put two and two together. Robin waited patient, knowing that this was neither the time nor the place to rush her. There was a long pause before she answered.

"Don't worry. He'll bring us back."

"He? As in Mastermind?" _She really must be delirious. Mastermind is the ruthless villian who brought us here, why would he want to help us get back. _Robin could tell she wasn't fit to be asked anything yet. She needed her rest, and he decided not to ask her anything more.

"Don't worry," she repeated again, after seeming to have read Robin's mind, "he will." She then drifted off to sleep once again.

_That certainly helped, _Robin thought, obviously upset that he didn't get any answers out of her awakening. _Well, at least I know she's well enough to remember who I am. _

"Uhh... guys, do ya'll mind coming over here for a second."

Robin, as well as everyone else in the cave, walked over to Cyborg. He was kneeling over Cupid and held something in his hand. It looked like... yes it was. It was a note addressed to the Teen Titans from none other than Mastermind.

"How did that get here," Beastboy asked, standing next to Raven.

"How am I suppose to know? One minute I'm checking Cupid's breathing, and the next, Starfire hands me this."

"It was addressed to us, so I thought I should show it to you."

"Good call, Star. Cyborg, tell us what it says."

"Let's see here," he took up the small piece of paper and unfolded it. The letters were big, and looked like they had been cut out of several different magazines and glued to one page. He began to read it alound. "You may have foiled my plans for now, but I'll get you back. That I vow. Go ahead and take my words for a joke, either way, you'll get back home on one breath of smoke. There you'll be happy and probably celebrate, but I'll be back. Just you wait." Cyborg looked up from the paper. He had finished reading, and everyone was silent.

"Someone sure likes rhyming things," Raven commented, breaking the solitude.

"Yeah. Who leaves us a note saying he'll get us back when we practically already know that?"

"But what does it mean 'we'll get back home on one breath of smoke'? It does not make any sense to me friend Robin."

"Me either, Star. But then again, you never know with these phsycotic guys." Robin put his detective mind to work to try and solve this corny riddle, until an unusual scent came to him. It was odorless, but still gave a scent. It was thick and heavy on his lungs. He took one breath of it and began to cough violently. His eyes became watery, and he had to blink over and over again, just to see. All that he could see though, was his team mates struggling with the deadly smell as well. He could see them all coughing and one by one, they dropped to the floor. He felt himself slipping, but remembered he had Prowler in his arms. He gently laid her to the ground (T.M.A.I: finally) before he himself collapsed, and everything went dark.

"Welcome back."

Robin opened his eyes to see...

"Beastboy?"

"Yeah, dude. Are you finally awake?"

"I hope so."

Robin sat straight up and saw his entire team around him. They were in Titans Tower, and outside the tower window was darkness. It was after eleven o'clock and Jump City had gone to sleep. All except for the all night store workers and night stragglers had laid their heads down to wake up early tomorrow. It was indeed a school night, which meant people would be out and about early the next morning.

"Was that all just a dream or..." Robin turned around and his eyes met Prowler. She had her back to him as she stared out the window. Even when she was not facing him, he could still see her bandaged right arm, and knew it wasn't a dream. "Apparently not," he answered his own unfinished question.

The Boy Wonder rose from the couch he had been laying on and steeped beside the Dark Mistress. She looked at him but for a moment then turned her focus back on the city. "It's so beautiful out here. So peaceful. Who would ever want to leave this place?"

"I'm not so sure you'll be singing the same tune when the bad guys show up. How's that arm of yours?"

"Painful."

"Funny, you don't look like you're in pain."

"That's 'cause I know how to keep it in. Suck it up."

"Isn't it hard sometimes? Keeping it in for so long? Doesn't it ever get out of hand?"

Prowler smiled to herself before turning to look at him. "Whether it's hard or not, it comes with the job description, and if you don't meet the job criteria... you might get fired." Robin knew what Prowler was talking about and nodded his head in indication that he understood.

_Why does he care so much?... You know it's nice having someone to care about you... Yeah, but remember, I didn't ask for it... Maybe you did. _(T.M.A.I: ok people just in case you didnt knowitalics and then ... then italics most likely means their talking to themself. don't give me that look, you know you do it too)

"Ok, everyone. It's time for the question and answer session of our battle." Cyborg made the announcement and everyone gathered together on the couch.

"The what?"

"The question and answer session," Robin answered a confused Prowler. "You'll see." He grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the couch. There they sat in the order of Raven, at the end, then Beastboy, Cyborg, Starfire, Robin, and Prowler on the other end.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," Beastboy piped up. "This is a question for Robin. What was with you not wanting to put Prowler down? I mean you had her in your arms for what, an hour?"

"Uhhhh..." Robin felt his face turn red. It almost matched his costume. "Well... I... uhh..."

"He didn't want me to get sick from any germs on the ground. And since there wasn't exactly a bed I could lay on, the next best thing was his arms." Prowler told Beastboy. She was beginning to get the concept of this session of the battle. Each team member had the chance to ask questions they couldn't during the fight. That way, everyone is clear on what happened.

"Oh, right. Next."

"I have got a question to ask friend Raven. Why did you not just transport us to the tower by turning into a bird?"

"Well, I didn't know that my powers were working before, and even when I did, I didn't know how much of it I could use. The more important thing was to defeat Cupid and heal Prowler, by the time I had finished that, I was out of the little energy I had before because I hadn't meditated and I had strained my powers to use as much as I did. So, in english: turning into a bird was out of the picture."

"I see. Thank you for clarifying that friend. Who is of the next?"

"I have a question for Robin." Everyone turned to watch Prowler who was about to ask her first question of the night. "Why did you hope I couldn't read your mind?"

"What?"

"When we were in the cave, you hoped that I wasn't an empath like Raven and that I couldn't read your mind, which I could when I'm not caught up with my own thoughts. But why didn't you want me to read your mind?" Robin was flaberguasted. He didn't actually think that she could read his mind, but she did, and now she was asking him why he had thought that.

"Yeah, what were you thinking about," Raven asked curiously.

"...nothing. I was just... just thinking."

Prowler just turned her head and once again stared out into the darkness of the city. Even without reading Robin's thoughts now, she could tell that it wasn't nothing, but if he didn't tell her, then she was never going to find out. She didn't like going into personal places in a person's mind, and the only reason she had read his mind before was because she had heard him think her name, as did Beastboy. But everyone already knew what that was about.

The session continued for about a half an hour until there were no more questions they had to ask. It was a little after eleven thirty and the Titansn were getting ready to call it a night.

"After the amount of butt-kicking we've been through today, I'm going to sleep for two weeks," Beastboy said as he yawned and got up to go to his room.

"Yeah. I think it's time we headed to bed," Raven agreed.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

Everyone turned their gaze once again on Prowler. No one had really thought about it, but she wasn't exactly a member of the team and... as much as they hated to admit it, she had to leave sometime. The room grew silent. None of them wanted to say goodbye to her.

Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess... I guess it is."

A sadness filled the room. One they had all noticed.

"Do you really have to leave?" Prowler looked first into Cyborg's eyes then to the floor.

"Yeah. I mean, I do have my own city to protect you know."

"But I don't hear a Prowler alarm going off, so maybe... maybe you could stay. At least for the night."

"Yes, friend. Besides, we could not allow you to fight any form of crime until you arm has properly healed."

Prowler looked down at her bandaged arm, then at Starfire.

"No. Really, I should get going. I'll be fine. This is your team, your home, not mine. I don't want to intrude."

"We couldn't let you leave without showing you what Jump City is all about. Just one night. It couldn't hurt. We have plenty of rooms."

Prowler left Starfire's eyes and found Robin's (T.M.A.I: technically it's like they (robinprowler) can sometimes see through each others masks, so when i say 'looked into their eyes' i meant 'looked through their mask to meet their eyes'). There was a sincerity in his glistening eyes. He was just asking, begging her to stay. Prowler sighed and tightly closed her eyes. _What do I do? They want me to stay, but I can't... Perhaps you can... What are you talking about. You know better than anyone I can't be a part of this team. I can't be a part of their lives, especially not his... There is a fine line between can't and won't. You won't allow yourself to get close to anyone. Loosen up. Give them a chance. Give him a chance._

Prowler opened her eyes to their eager faces.

"Ok. I guess one night wouldn't hurt,"

A sigh of relief was exhaled,

"but only on one condition," Prowler continued. "Me staying here has to be ok with everyone. All of you have to agree. If not..."

"Sure."

"Of course."

"We could not allow you to stay anywhere else, friend."

"What harm could one night do?"

"Looks like your staying," Robin concluded now that everyone had voiced their opinion. "It's nice to have you on the team."

"Wait a sec. Who said I was—"

Prowler was cut off as Robin threw her a Titans communicator. She caught it with her left hand and stared at it as if not able to grasp the fact that she was holding one. "When you fainted, we had a discussion and... well, if u'll accept our offer, we'd like to make you part of the team. You don't exactly have to live here or anything, but you'd be welcome to visit anytime and..."

"Why not."

"Yes!"

"Welcome to the team." Robin stretched out a hand, and she took it...

**Ok, that's all I'm going to write for now, but let me tell you, you're in for a surprise come next chapter. Turns out Robin knows Prowler a lot better than he could have imagined... _a lot better._**


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